War of the North
by The One Whoo
Summary: The sister country of Equestria has attacked! The Northernlands have been at peace with Equestria for ages, and it has been a long time since Celestia has had to use her golden sword... will the Equestrians prevail, or is the end of everything they've come to know?
1. Chapter 1

Princess Celestia hadn't heard from their northern sister country since she saw a prince at the Grand Galloping Gala last year. With many daily things on her mind, this noncommunication had only inkled her slightly, in the back of her mind. She had the sun, her subjects and the welfare of the entirety of Equestria to think about constantly. While it was important to keep in touch with the Northernlands, the original home of earth, unicorn and Pegasus ponies, it was just not as pressing as most of her other duties.

Alicorns had come from across the sea, ages ago. Celestia remembered it dimly, and Luna and Cadence not at all. The three sisters were just fillies and baby ponies then. They'd grown up slowly, interspersed with Equestrian ponies. There had been many families. Celestia remembered being best friends with another young Alicorn, and two Pegasus ponies. Discord had done his best to wipe all Alicorns off the face of the earth… only Celestia and her sisters were strong enough to survive. By then, unicorn magic had dimmed, and the unicorns were no longer able to raise the sun and the moon. Celestia and Luna took the responsibility upon themselves. They were the last Alicorns, and the strongest magic-users in the land. They were elevated to royalty by fellow Equestrians. Since then, they'd been reserved. Celestia and Luna had their infamous disagreement. Ponies had come and gone. Immortality was hard on the sweet-natured sisters. Just recently, their youngest sister Cadance had been married. Celestia knew that someday she'd step down from leadership…someday she'd just be too tired to continue. It had been over a thousand years, after all. She knew exactly who her heir would be, and knew Cadence would continue the royal line. Everything was taken care of. She only had to keep her kingdom running until that day…

Luna, during their brief exchanges over breakfast, had commented that she felt it sort of sinister that the Northernlands hadn't contacted them in an age.

"You're overreacting," Celestia said dismissively. She was reading a morning report from one of her advisors.

"I don't know," Luna said. "They've kept in constant contact for over a thousand years and now suddenly we haven't heard a peep out of them?"

"I trust them, Luna." Celestia looked her sister in the eye. "They're probably just busy."

"Maybe there's a problem," Luna said quickly. "We could send ponies to help out. After all, isn't that our duty as a sister country?"

Celestia sighed. "Yes, of course. But as you know, we've been having problems with sea monsters in the west and-"

"Princess! Princess!" an advisor shouted, galloping through the wide-open dining hall doors. He came to a screeching stop, his hooves rough against the tile floor. He was sweating and his eyes and mane were wild.

"Yes?" Celestia asked kindly.

The advisor blinked and shook his head. "We've been attacked! I repeat- Equestria is being attacked!"

Celestia was taken aback, and Luna's expression was unreadable. "What?" was all the older Princess could manage.

"The Northernlands! There are thousands of warriors…our Pegasus border-keepers flew day and night…they've taken Las Pegasus…three villages are under their control."

Celestia got to her hooves. "Tough Quill, open the war room."

* * *

Luna was dead tired. After all, she'd been up all night. However, she followed inquisitively after her stern sister and the advisor, wondering how Celestia was going to handle this. It had been thousands of years since the two of them had been warriors. Their magic was still as powerful as ever, but nowadays everything was just so darn peaceful. Luna sadly shook her head. _I've lost my edge_. Instincts honed and trained back in the wild first age of Equestria was dulled and dimmed by time spent in the freaking moon (she tried her best not to be bitter about that) and passively watching the night pass by.

_Well. I'll have to do something about that._ Luna swept away from the precession to the war room and down a smaller corridor. Her own impressive chambers stood at the end of the darkened passage. There were no windows. _Sleeping can come later._

* * *

Celestia had never been inside the war room. Her castle had been rebuilt over the remains of the old council hall that had been destroyed during Discord's reign of terror. It was the place where Equestria had always been lead by its leaders. But since she and her sister had been rulers, nothing had ever prompted a visit to the room.

Tough Quill took one of the gold tassel door handles in his mouth and pried the doors open. The ancient construction scraped a little against the bright stone floor, but it still came open easily. Celestia walked in ahead of her advisor. Morning sunlight streamed in through large stained-glass windows. The room was sparsely furnished, fitted only with a round table and a few cabinets and bookshelves. It had been recently dusted, as the air was clear and the table shiny. It smelled faintly like oranges.

"I'll retrieve the other councilors, your Majesty," Tough Quill said, quickly rushing from the room. Celestia smiled slightly at the title. She wondered if the ponies had really known what they were getting into putting Alicorns on the throne. Ah, well, stability was good for them, in any case.

Stability. What would the ponies think of an invading army? These ponies had lived for the last two ages in peace and harmony. Celestia remembered back when Pegasi were fierce, when unicorns were ruthless, and when earth ponies were steely and strong. These days, ponies were a mere shadow of what they had been. They were also happier. They didn't have to be wizened warriors anymore, or heartless spell-casters. They could be themselves and live in harmony. Celestia smiled as she thought of her young charge, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends. They were the sweetest ponies anypony could know, and yet they'd risen to a challenge time and time again, and proven themselves wise warriors in more ways than one.

_There's hope yet_, Celestia thought.

Luna clanked into the open doorway. The sunlight in the hall outside cast shadows against her silvery armor.

"Luna…" Celestia began, but stopped when the dark mare shook her head and mane.

"Celestia, it may come to battle. It may come to all-out war. I want us to be ready."

Celestia was about to brush off her sister's advice once again, but couldn't find the heart to. Celestia had always hated the fighting, the violence, though she'd done what was necessary without looking back. She knew Luna didn't like it any more than she did…though she was pretty cruel and merciless when she got into a battle rage.

"Alright, Luna," Celestia conceded. "I'll have Golden Rain come and help us practice later. Now you need to get some rest."

Luna nodded and walked away, and the two sisters both knew she would not be resting. She'd most likely be practicing her sword-play. Celestia shook her head. They didn't even know the whole situation and were jumping to conclusions already. Ah well. Best to be prepared. She'd shrugged Luna off once too often. She was _right_. The Northernland's extended silence had been ominous. Celestia smiled wistfully. Her sister was grown up. It was time Celestia took her seriously.

Tough Quill reentered the war room with several of the other advisors. Some looked like they had just barely risen. Celestia glanced at a convenient wall-clock. It was barely 7:30.

"Our reports," Tough Quill began, "say that two days ago, an army emerged from the northern forests and took Las Pegasus. The ground troops swarmed villages and took many before anyone even knew what was happening. The leaders took all Las Pegasans prisoner, but most of the villagers managed to escape southward. There were casualties…we have not heard any demands as of yet."

Celestia bowed her head over the table. Casualties. There was a word she hadn't heard in an age or two.

"Send three squadrons of Pegasi north," Celestia said. "Have them keep an eye on the city and troop movements, but do not engage. At the same time, send half of our army up there, and increase our watch on the eastern shores and western borders. I suggest we evacuate other nearby northern cities and bring them to Canterlot and Ponyville. We're the only places that could accommodate that many misplaced ponies."

The advisors nodded their heads in agreement. Some seemed to be in shock, while other's expressions seemed to imply that they had found this inevitable. Tough Quill was trying to appear competent, but he had never done much more than act as a messenger. This was out of his area of expertise.

_We're all going to have to adjust,_ Celestia thought. _This is war._


	2. Chapter 2

"We'll send ambassadors to Los Pegasus and to the Northernland capitol- Hintervald," Celestia was saying.

"I would also suggest, um, Princess, that perhaps we recruit for the army?"

"Princess, many of our troops are wounded or caught up in the east, against the sea creatures. We simply do not have the forces to protect Canterlot _and_ send a contingent north…"

"-And maybe we could just reason with them-"

"I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding…"

"We have to finish this before it gets out of hand! Does anypony _realize_ that ponies are _dying_ up there and-"

"Shhhhh," Celestia said quietly, but in a commanding tone. The overlapping excited commentary of the advisors was getting to her. "Ambassadors- Tough Quill, get those sent right away."

The brown stallion nodded respectfully and scribbled something down on a parchment that was on the table in front of him.

"Wellll," Countess Stringa said with an affected voice. Her husband, Keep Sake, an advisor to the Princess, had still been asleep while Tough Quill was rounding them up. She'd come in his stead. She'd always thought herself to be an integral part to palace workings and a personal friend to the Princess. Or at least that was what she told her upper-crust friends. In truth, she was only living in the palace because of her husband's station, and had forced her title from Celestia, who, along with the other palace-dwellers, did their best to avoid the disreputable olive-green mare.

"_I_ think that we should just get this trouble-ma_king_ _stallioooon_ to see _reasonnn_. We _obviously_ have the _su_perior force and _he_ just _absolutely_ stands _no_ chance whut-soevarrrh."

Celestia cleared her throat to disguise her giggle. Canterlot staple narcissism was rampant in this pony, and Stringa wasn't ashamed to prove she had better breeding. Celestia wondered if Stringa even understood what she herself was saying half the time. It sounded more like it was intended for effect rather than purpose. Celestia sighed quietly as the advisors continued debating. It would be a time like this where she'd rather be surrounded by competent ponies for real-life matters. Ponies like…well, like Twilight's friends.

_Advisors through thick-and-thin_, Celestia thought. _This is what I get for hiring ponies qualified to help me out with Canterlotian society and petty squabbles._

_I need a war council,_ she thought. _That'd be a decent way out of this. I'll give these advisors a title too. Um…Internal Affairs? Nah. Oooh! The Equestria Committee._

"Ahem." The debate settled into quiet silence, and the councilors turned to their Princess. "We need to see to the comfort and well-being of our citizens in a tumultuous time such as this," she said nobly, with royal air. "I would trust none other than my Equestria Committee to see to this. I give all of you full reign to taken care of our citizens at this moment. I want you to oversee evacuations, morale, and recruitment." Celestia stood. "I will be going to head the armies in the north. Take care of my country."

The advisors were speechless as she left the room. She was gone before anypony could think of advising her not to go.

* * *

Celestia looked at the trunk that had been shut for more than a thousand years. It contained her armor, which was similar to her sister's. It probably was dull and dim, and in need of a good polish. Celestia picked up the trunk with her magic, unconcerned that she would be seen doing her own work. It was time she did. All the Princess airs would have to be thrown out the window. She would never watch a poor servant pony struggle under the weight of her bags again just for the sake of her image. She was Celestia! The Warrior Princess! She could carry her own weight.

She took the trunk down to the waiting carriage. It was a necessary evil. She herself wasn't strong enough to carry all this north, so she'd have to rely on her royal guard, who were doubling as cart-stallions. Celestia stuffed another trunk full of medical supplies and food next to her armor case. Who knew what the Los Pegasans were going through, and what they'd need? For the first time, Celestia was gripped with anger. How dare the Northernlanders attack her people? Take their homes? Couldn't they be happy with the land they had?  
Celestia gritted her teeth. Being angry about the situation wouldn't help anything.

"That's it," Celestia said. Golden Rain bobbed his head. To his immediate left was Yard Arm, a tough Pegasus pony from her personal guard who had once served in Celestia's navy.

The carriage rattled and began to move. With Luna snoring beside her, Celestia began the journey north.

* * *

Spike belched out a scroll in a blaze of green fire. It landed neatly on the table, right next to Twilight's breakfast. It was easily 8:30, and the purple unicorn pony still hadn't risen from bed. Spike tutted under his breath. Pinkie Pie's party had ended quite late the night before.

Spike snatched a tomato from Twilight's plate as he picked up the scroll. A message from Celestia was important enough to stir Twilight from her sleep. His short little legs working, Spike ascended the stairs to the bedroom.

"Pst…Twilight!" Spike said through the open door. "A message from the Princess!"

"This early…?" Twilight muttered, turning over.

"Twilight. It's 8:30. Get up!" Spike rushed over and pulled on the pony's foremost leg. "You have to read it."

Twilight groaned and got up. Her usually straightened hair spun out in all directions like an exploded parasprite. Spike stifled a giggle.

Twilight used her magic to lift a brush over to her and begin combing the massive tangle. Simultaneously, she opened the curtains and took the scroll from her little dragon helper.

"Let's see…" she muttered. Usually a letter from the Princess of all Equestria would warrant a little more excitement. _She really must be tired._

Twilight's eyes scanned the page, growing wider as she read. "Spike!" she shouted, causing the dragon to fall backward.

"I'm right here," he said grumpily.

"I…we…Equestria! We're under attack!" Twilight shouted. "Listen, listen- _Equestria is under attack in the north. Las Pegasus has already been taken, along with surrounding villages. I am assembling my war-council. I will meet with you at Sugar Cube Corner near 10:30AM. Destroy this message."_

"Whoa," Spike breathed.

"I _know_!" Twilight replied. She rushed out of the bedroom, abandoning her brush on the nightstand. Spike hurried after her.

Twilight was at the downstairs table, nibbling on the breakfast salad. She was currently whipping books off shelves as fast as her magic would let her.

"What do you need, Twilight?" Spike asked. As her assistant, his usual duties involved chores and finding books…which was also a chore, but he'd come to like it, and knew the locations of many volumes by heart.

"Anything on history and war! Oooohhh," she said with frustration. "Why does she want _me_ on her war council? What do I know?"

Spike shrugged. "Just about everything to do with history." He was up a ladder retrieving a specific volume he thought would be helpful. _The Compleat Equestrian Historee_. He climbed back down to the wooden floor.

"Here," he said, handing the book to Twilight.

"I guess you're right," Twilight said, warming to the compliment. She calmed down visibly, and books ceased flying about. Spike let out a small breath. _Unicorns._

Twilight flipped through the book, trying to sum up thousands of years of history in only a few hours. History was one of her favorite subjects (besides astronomy), but she'd always somehow skipped over the wars and gross parts. It was all so…violent.

"Okay. Invading army…invading army…" Twilight mused.

Spike smiled and walked away. One could never say Twilight studied a subject half-way (when called upon).

* * *

Sugar Cube Corner was uncharacteristically deserted. Twilight ran into Rarity on her way up to the door.

"Good morning, Twilight Sparkle," Rarity said with a smile. Her white coat gleamed in the sunlight…probably the desired effect. "Are you here to see the Princess as well?"

"Yes." Twilight nodded. "So you've heard about-"

"Oh yes, the war. Dreadful business." Rarity shook her head. "But we'll get it all sorted now won't we? Hopefully without having to resort to _vi_olence. I do so detest fighting but you know if I must, I must…"

Twilight smiled indulgently and opened the door for Rarity. The prim unicorn passed into the sweetshop, still talking about herself. Twilight wasn't particularly surprised to find her other best friends seated around a table, being offered all sorts of treats by Pinkie Pie. The Cakes were nowhere to be found.

"Oh hey, Twilight." Apple Jack beamed. "Good mornin'."

"Hey!" Rainbow Dash said, by way of greeting.

Fluttershy was shivering, but was trying to look stolid, with a grim look on her face. She had her helmet from the Hearth's Warming Eve celebration on her head. She had a single hoof pressed into the wood of the table-top.

Pinkie Pie bounced up to Rarity. "Coffee cake? Doughnut?"

Rarity daintily ate a cake with one bite. "Mmmm. Delicious, Pinkie Pie."

"Can I try one?" a powerful voice boomed from behind Twilight. The ponies turned and bowed their heads a little.

"Princess!" Twilight exclaimed.

Pinkie Pie was the only one who didn't appear cowed. She rushed forward with her tray and offered it to the Princess. After Celestia had taken one of the cakes herself, Pinkie Pie dashed to put the tray down and then dashed back to the Princess' side.

"Of course you could have one because you're the Princess and Princess' need sugar and spice and everything nice and of _course_ we have the best coffee cakes around so why _wouldn't_ we want you to try one that would just be _mean_!"

Princess Celestia laughed, but she appeared subdued.

"Thank you Pinkie Pie," she said. She gestured for the ponies to find a place at the table. Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie Pie scurried over to their seats, unwilling to make the Princess wait.

"I have called you all here to be my War Council. There is no one else I would trust to be here." Celestia nodded, and two stallions entered the shop from outside. "This is Golden Rain and Yard Arm. They are my top guard stallions."

"W-w-whoa," Fluttershy said quietly.

The two stallions nodded to the ponies, and Twilight saw Rarity's eyes sparkle just a little bit in the presence of handsome Golden Rain.

"Girls…this is a serious matter." Princess Celestia didn't have to explain this to them. It sort of sounded like she was convincing herself. "I need ponies I can trust. Ponies with skill and level heads."

Rainbow Dash snuck a sideways look at Pinkie, who was vibrating with excitement.

"Each of you are quite talented, and I need to use those abilities and your insights in defending our country. Are you up to the challenge?"

As one, the ponies shouted "Yes!" All except for Fluttershy, who mouthed a quiet "Maybe?"


End file.
